The United Nations General Assembly approved an upgraded U.N. status for the Palestinian Authority, despite U.S. and Israeli opposition.

While this may be primarily symbolic, it is still a highly significant move on the part of the United Nations. 65 years ago, the United Nations called for a two-state system. This map of the vote that I found on Facebook (can't find another source as of yet) is quite intriguing.

Questions to Ponder: Why might a country choose to abstain? Can you think of a specific reason why a particular country abstained? With this new geopolitical fact, how will Israel and Palestine move forward?

One year ago, the U.N. status regarding Palestine was upgraded from "non-member observer entity" to "non-member observer state". While Palestinians believe that this is a major push for peace and for Palestinian independence, other countries believe that the change will not do anything for Palestine.

Though there is much to be said from this map, I would like to focus on the red and black countries. I was surprised that only 9 nations did not support the acknowledgement of Palestine as a recognizable political entity. Of those 9, only 2 are members of the G8 (or perhaps now G7 due to Russia's suspension) Summit committee. The countries which abstained likely did so out of a mix of reasons: to not offend some of their allies by voting no, to not offend other allies by voting yes, not having enough of an opinion to make a complete decision, or having a mixed opinion within their own borders. IN this way it's a "pleading the Fifth" motion, which I believe can be seen as a smart move, politically speaking. Just like the 2-party struggle within the US, sometimes there are no two clear right and wrong answers.

the only reason i can see for not including paslestine is that they do not have defined country boarders. this would make it difficult for them to be included in decisions made by the U.N. once they have established boarders (something they need to work out with israel and the U.N.) i can not see any reason to not include them. conversely, if they are included in the U.N. then it seems that it would only help to resolve the issue since they would both seemingly be more linked together in a positive way.

If you're feeling particularly nationalistic, or just want to see how consistently you speak like your friends and neighbors, here are all the dialect quizzes that I could find. Find out what your dialect most resembles, and, in many cases, help science at the same time!

A. 60% of all households without toilets in the world are in India.B. India’s Muslims are less affected by the sanitation problem than Hindus.C. India’s lack of toilets is worse than China’s.D. Lack of toilets in India puts women at especially high risk.

I was unpleasantly surprised to learn that all these statements are indeed true. Reading about the struggles India has endured with the lack of indoor plumbing many of its people must endure made me think of a previous article I had read about the "Two Mexico's." Rapid development in certain areas for certain people has revolutionized the standard of living for some, but the persistence of corruption has lead to economic lag for many of the people of both nations, meaning significant portions of the population are being left behind during this period of development. The sanitation and plumbing systems of inca are woefully inadequate for a country of over a billion people, subtracting from the leaps that have been made in other areas. The dangers faced by women as a result of the lack of indoor plumbing was a surprise, although it does make sense. Millions of Indian women have to resort to walking to communal bathrooms, oftentimes at night on solitary trips, which leaves them vulnerable to the kids of sexual assault that have plagued Indian media. I hope for the sake of the Indian people that improvements in the rates of indoor plumbing in the country continue to be made.

One thing about this issue is the fact that most of the people living in the area dont have the proper sanitation. Many of the issues that they face are a lack of government and funding and jobs. However the issue in India is the worst within the world. China has a huge lack of sanitation but in India the situation is much worse.

Something like this just disgusts me, first off there are more cell phones in this country than toilets... how does a government allow that to happen? Clearly, the answer is, they must not care because there is lack of governmental help. These people do not have toilets in there houses, they have to go down the street to a public restroom where thousands of people go a day both sick and healthy, so there are probably terrible sicknesses running rampant. Hopefully for them, they do not get a life threatening disease that will kill off the population.

This article relates to what we have been learning in class because it talks about how gerrymandering works and how it manipulates political geography. My opinion on this topic is that it's a big problem for people who oppose the side that is gerrymandering and it's really unfair to the opposing side.

This is related to world cultural geography by the word gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power. Gerrymandering is completely and utterly unfair to the powerless party. The process is practically setting up zones of people who are, for instance, democratic, that means that particular county (region, district, etc.) is democratic majority and possibly have republican minority, therefore the democrats win that county (region, district, etc).

"Nicknames are important branding strategies used by civic boosters, and Chicago’s namesakes are frequently employed to market the city and its surrounding region as 'The Jewel of the Midwest' and 'Heart of America.' At the same time, urban monikers can arise from the wider public and they have sometimes been used to draw attention to negative qualities of Chicago life."

Is it Londonderry or just Derry? Xinjiang or Eastern Turkestan? The Sea of Japan or the East Sea? Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf? Names and nicknames have political and cultural overtones that can be very important. As the author of this AAG article on the Chicago's nickname, Chiraq says, "city nicknames are more than a gimmick; they can define geographies of violence, marginalization, and resistance."

Illinois has been stigmatized by many negative nicknames such as "Killinois," "Shot-town," and "Chiraq." Urban crime hs always been a problem in the city of Chicago, and the most remarkable areas are on the south side of Chicago. High unemployment, poor neighborhoods, and lack of parenting/mentoring, and failing school districts all contribute to the number of young people turning to steet crime in order for survival. With so many gangs acitivities on the street, Chiraq is a city of violence and war. Chaos on the street and the killings of many innocent people increasing, government officials needs to react with strict regulations in order to stop this violence. Poor economic status has played a significant role in the deterioration of the city. Citizen who were once classified as middle have become a part of the poor class. The relocation of housing projects in proximity to wealthier communities has instilled fear of the expansion of gang violence and activity within residents of these communities.

This article is about how Chicago's many nicknames represent its culture and people's sense of the place. Many people have began to call Chicago by the name of "Chiraaq" and mixture of Iraq and Chicago. This is due to the violences in the city and resemblence to the action in Iraq. The nickname’s power, politically, is the way in which naming functions as a form of shaming and the name has been advertised on shirts, posters and even songs putting it into the category of pop-culture. As suggested in research, place names are not confined to official nomenclature on maps, but also include competing, vernacular systems of naming. Chicago’s many nicknames provide insight into the different ways that people frame and reconfigure the image of the city for the wider world.

This relates to unit 3 because it deals with vernacular regions and popular culture. The different names of Chicago are often not defined with a definite boundary of the city, rather an individuals opinion or idea of the area. They are often very vague with the names such as "Paris on the Prairie" that not only include Chicago but neighboring towns and cities as well. Or the opposite, where the name "Sweet Home" may only be referring to a portion of the city rather than the entire city of Chicago. The names, such as Chiraq, also fall under pop-culture when they become a widely known idea and are adopted by many sources. The advertisement and use of the nickname in songs and merchandise shows the wide range of distribution for the nickname. The use of the word is often changing and will be popular for a short period of time as popular culture is always changing.

This picture slide show has to do with microstates, which are states or terratories that are both small in population and in size. These microstates are mostly near the sea, or even islands. Microstates have both pros and cons. Pros include having an abundant buffer zone: the sea. Another pro would be being alone, or isolated, (sometimes) this makes them free from other countries, which can be a pro and a con. A con may be that the country may have a harder time accessing fresh water, and improving agriculture with little land. Unit 4 deals with Microstates.

Microstates are discussed in Unit 4, and all of these are examples of Microstates. Microstates have many pros and cons listed above.

This shows that the world is made up of several countries of different origins. people on this small island nation could have lived there for centuries. this is a goodway to show how diverse the world is.

The scale of China's land reclamation in the South China Sea is leading to "serious questions" on its intentions, a top US official says.

China is building artificial land by pumping sand on to live coral reefs - some of them submerged - and paving over them with concrete. China has now created over 4sq/km (1.5 sq miles) of artificial landmass. China is creating a great wall of sand with dredges and bulldozers over the course of months.

In addition to the original BBC article, here is another article from the Telegraph with some aerial imagery showing the extent of this geo-engineering project. This has plenty of geopolitical implications and the United States government is on record saying that it is "concerned."

Pumping in sand to cover coral reef and create more land is a very inventive way to make new territory, using concrete and placing bulldozers and other machinery is helping China gain more land and gain more access in the South China Sea yet this who pumping is making people question and causing places such as the Philippines to file complaints saying they will not be associated with the whole plan that China has. Why is China exactly pumping sand and spreading concrete over the live coral reefs? Does China know they are killing live animals and plants underneath the sea?

While looking into the matter I found that China believed the whole act of reclaiming land to be "entirely within China's sovereignty and are totally justifiable". Now people all over the world are focused on land and power, not about other social matters. This land pumping is not only causing conflict but it is creating more opportunity to better work and living conditions.

China is a large and powerful nation that is not afraid of flexing military muscle to its smaller neighbors. The developments of China building artificial land to strengthen its claim in the region shows how determined the country is to have its claims honored. It also shows that China will stop at nothing to have regions were resources could be to aid in the countries economic growth. However, China is causing a great deal of controversy through its actions. Also, China's neighbors are becoming increasingly frustrated with the large nation, yet they are all much smaller nations that really can't prevent the Chinese from doing what they want, especially with China declaring it won't listen to what the UN has to say. China is a country that is not afraid of strongman politics to get what it wants.

"Based upon student reactions to their multiple choice exams, I can tell that the types of questions are NOT, 'choose the correct definition for the vocabulary term.' Instead, the types of questions are leading towards giving an example of a real world phenomenon and then requesting students to tell which term best applies. And though I have not seen an actual test, it sounds like the kids were saying that the questions require more reading than the answers (I would actually prefer that to the alternative)."

"Approximately 7.1 million Americans moved to another state in 2012. That’s over 2.2% of the U.S. population. The United States has a long history of people picking up and moving their families to other parts of the country, in search of better livelihoods. That same spirit of mobility, a willingness to uproot oneself, seems alive and well today based on the visualization of migration patterns above.

The visualization is a circle cut up into arcs, the light-colored pieces along the edge of the circle, each one representing a state. The arcs are connected to each other by links, and each link represents the flow of people between two states."

Many people migrate each and every day, but sometimes when they move to places like the USA, that part of the world can become overpopulated at times. Not having enough resources many begin to slowly die off which is either a good or bad thing while being in this position. However, when people do migrate they are leaving behind their homes and many are losing jobs. ~BH

in 2012, 2.2% of the U.S population migrated to different states. I think its a good thing that people migrate to different states so they can expirience, first hand, how much states other than their home state contribute to our country. RE

"It’s not just a sausage in a bun; it’s a beautiful blank canvas. It’s a hot dog, which is a foodstuff eaten worldwide. Here are 40 distinctive varieties from around the globe — from iconic NYC 'dirty water dogs' to fully loaded South American street-cart dogs to Japanese octo-dogs. There is a tubesteak out there for every craving that ever was."

The 4th of July is the day of Coney Island's Hot Dog eating contest and the quintessential day to have a barbeque in the United States. Some see the hot dog as a mere symbol of the uniformity of globalized culture in the 21st century that diffused out from the United States. There is much more to be seen in the globalization of food. Yes, the global goes to the whole world, but distinct places make this global cultural trait intensely local. For example the hot dogs in Cincinnati are famous for being topped with chili and an obscene quantity of cheese, but in Costa Rica, I learned to love eating hot dogs deep fried, topped with cabbage, mayo and ketchup, just like the Ticos. Food is but one example of this phenomena known as glocalization, where diffusion and divergence keep the world both global and local.

The 4th of July is the day of Coney Island's Hot Dog eating contest and the quintessential day to have a barbeque in the United States. Some see the hot dog as a mere symbol of the uniformity of globalized culture in the 21st century that diffused out from the United States. There is much more to be seen in the globalization of food. Yes, the global goes to the whole world, but distinct places make this global cultural trait intensely local. For example the hot dogs in Cincinnati are famous for being topped with chili and an obscene quantity of cheese, but in Costa Rica, I learned to love eating hot dogs deep fried, topped with cabbage, mayo and ketchup, just like the Ticos. Food is but one example of this phenomena known as glocalization, where diffusion and divergence keep the world both global and local.

The 4th of July is the day of Coney Island's Hot Dog eating contest and the quintessential day to have a barbeque in the United States. Some see the hot dog as a mere symbol of the uniformity of globalized culture in the 21st century that diffused out from the United States. There is much more to be seen in the globalization of food. Yes, the global goes to the whole world, but distinct places make this global cultural trait intensely local. For example the hot dogs in Cincinnati are famous for being topped with chili and an obscene quantity of cheese, but in Costa Rica, I learned to love eating hot dogs deep fried, topped with cabbage, mayo and ketchup, just like the Ticos. Food is but one example of this phenomena known as glocalization, where diffusion and divergence keep the world both global and local.

While this doesn't say everything about the state of cultural politics in the United States, it does lay out some of the more ideologically charged debates in the new political landscape after the midterm elections. What does this Venn diagram say about the state of cultural politics in your state? The Courts have aided the push for same sex marriages; will that also occur for marijuana legalization?

An absolutely great and fun way to learn and explore different geographic locations. Anytime learning can be made fun or turned into a game is always a win-win. I found myself screwing around with these mini games and before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed, and I was not as good at Geography as I thought I was. I will be back to play/learn more!

This is an interesting way to learn geography in a more interactive way. This link provides many different games that allow you to not only play a game but learn while you do it! These games can test capitals, rivers, monarchies, countries, regions, peninsulas, battles, etc. All of these relate to Europe and can provide different learning techniques for anyone who is interested in them.

This Toporopa is a great interaction games for people who are interested in geography. Europe has a rich history dates back to colonial times and there are many interesting facts that a lot of people does not know about it. It is fun and entertaining way to train your brain and a great review to see what you know about the world.

I think the term 'artificial' in the image might be misleading and it depends on your definition of the word. Humans have been selectively breed plants and animals for as long as we've been able to domestic them; that is a 'natural' part of our cultural ecology and has lead to great varieties of crops that are much more suitable for human consumption than what was naturally available. Long before climate change, humans have been actively shaping their environment and the ecological inputs in the systems with the technology that their disposal. This is a good resource to teach about the 1st agricultural revolution.

This article shows how crops were entirely different 8,000 years ago. It shows how much we have breeded and affected the natural crops. With the example of peaches, watermelons, and corn, the article shows how the natural crop didn't taste as good and was a lot smaller. The natural peach had 64% edible food; whereas the 2014 peach had 90% edible food. The pictures comparing the natural and artificial crops also illustrated how the many varieties of that specific crop had grown and where the crop is found has grown. Lastly, the diagrams compares the water and sugar percentages. This article paints a good picture as to how much mankind has affected our land and agriculture. Also, how much our crops have changed due to selective breeding.

The article gives a good illustration of topics in Unit 5: Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use. The article shows how selective breeding has affected many crops. It gives a good view as to how selective breeding and agriculture has been affected and changed in the Neolithic Agriculture Revolution. The article explains what what life was like and how it changed in the Neolithic times. This article is really interesting in showing how crops were changed.

I think the term 'artificial' in the image might be misleading and it depends on your definition of the word. Humans have been selectively breed plants and animals for as long as we've been able to domestic them; that is a 'natural' part of our cultural ecology and has lead to great varieties of crops that are much more suitable for human consumption than what was naturally available. Long before climate change, humans have been actively shaping their environment and the ecological inputs in the systems with the technology that their disposal. This is a good resource to teach about the 1st agricultural revolution.

A. 60% of all households without toilets in the world are in India.B. India’s Muslims are less affected by the sanitation problem than Hindus.C. India’s lack of toilets is worse than China’s.D. Lack of toilets in India puts women at especially high risk.

I was unpleasantly surprised to learn that all these statements are indeed true. Reading about the struggles India has endured with the lack of indoor plumbing many of its people must endure made me think of a previous article I had read about the "Two Mexico's." Rapid development in certain areas for certain people has revolutionized the standard of living for some, but the persistence of corruption has lead to economic lag for many of the people of both nations, meaning significant portions of the population are being left behind during this period of development. The sanitation and plumbing systems of inca are woefully inadequate for a country of over a billion people, subtracting from the leaps that have been made in other areas. The dangers faced by women as a result of the lack of indoor plumbing was a surprise, although it does make sense. Millions of Indian women have to resort to walking to communal bathrooms, oftentimes at night on solitary trips, which leaves them vulnerable to the kids of sexual assault that have plagued Indian media. I hope for the sake of the Indian people that improvements in the rates of indoor plumbing in the country continue to be made.

One thing about this issue is the fact that most of the people living in the area dont have the proper sanitation. Many of the issues that they face are a lack of government and funding and jobs. However the issue in India is the worst within the world. China has a huge lack of sanitation but in India the situation is much worse.

Something like this just disgusts me, first off there are more cell phones in this country than toilets... how does a government allow that to happen? Clearly, the answer is, they must not care because there is lack of governmental help. These people do not have toilets in there houses, they have to go down the street to a public restroom where thousands of people go a day both sick and healthy, so there are probably terrible sicknesses running rampant. Hopefully for them, they do not get a life threatening disease that will kill off the population.

This shows that mmcdonals is a global industy . there are many mcdonalds everywhere they put a spin oncertain diishes to match their heritage like in japan instead of hamburger meat like we americans use the use crabs.It just really shows how far mcdonalds was changed from just starting in america to being featured all over the globe

I've lived and traveled to a few places especially Asia. I've had the Ramen at McD's in Hawaii along with the Portugeuse sausage that comes with the big breakfast. I've also experienced Japanese McD's. It was nice to be able to find some of the regular food like a burger and fry at any McD's in the world, but I never ordered anything else.

A news reporter from the UK congratulates one twin for turning out lighter than her sister, who has black skin. The parents of the twins are mix-gendered, (one of them is black and one of them is white), so one of the twins got her looks from her mom and other one got her looks from her dad.

I found the video very racist! I don't know what the news reporter was thinking at all! But, I think that it is really cool that they are twins, and are different genders.

The idea that these 2 girls are related just shows that race shouldn't have anything to do with who we are as people. We learned about equality in many units and I am amazed that something like this has even happened.

Ethnicity - Ethnicity is a socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural or national experience. The girls shown in the pictures came from the same mother, and have the same father, but of course they are fraternal twins. Most people would categorize the red headed girl as white, and the brunette as black or African American, both with completely different backgrounds, and it never crossing their minds that these girls could be related at all. Due to society's categorizing of skin color, people have grown to believe wrong about ethnicity. The color of one's skin has nothing to do with a person's family history or heritage. These twins prove that society is racist when it comes to assuming the ethnicity of a person.

This article deals with unit 1 because it has to do with maps. This map shows how underwater cables connect the internet throughout the world. The cables transmit 99% of international data instantly. On this map you can also see latency. Another map in this article shows 1912 trade routes and underwater cables today. The routes are similar and the interdependency has stayed but the methods and meanings for each of these things are different. To pass the ocean is risky by the investments, and trading. Sailors took tHess risks and now the tech companies are taking them. The cables are thin in the deep water equalling 3 inches across. In addition the cables are thicker in shallower water. The interesting thing is these cables can go as deep as Mount Everest is high.

A map projection is used to portray all or part of the round Earth on a flat surface. This cannot be done without some distortion. Every projection has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. There is no "best" projection. The mapmaker must select the one best suited to the needs, reducing distortion of the most important features. Mapmakers and mathematicians have devised almost limitless ways to project the image of the globe onto paper. Scientists at the U. S. Geological Survey have designed projections for their specific needs—such as the Space Oblique Mercator, which allows mapping from satellites with little or no distortion. This document gives the key properties, characteristics, and preferred uses of many historically important projections and of those frequently used by mapmakers today.

This articles starts off describing the two meridians that divide the eastern and western hemispheres, the prime meridian and the 180th meridian. The prime meridian is the line of longitude where longitude is equal to zero. Countries east of the prime meridian are considered in the eastern hemisphere, while all countries west are located in the western hemisphere.

Eight countries intersect in-between both of these hemispheres, there are the United Kingdom, in Europe France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo.

The 180th meridian is opposite the prime, and countries to the west of the 180th are in the eastern hemisphere.

This is an interesting thing to examine because these locations are not set in stone. The tectonic plates that hold these countries will always be shifting in different directions. So in 20 years from now I wonder is the number 8 will increase or decrease?

Pretty neat information contained on this page. Kiribati is the only country in the world located in all four hemispheres. That is a place that I would love to visit. There are not many countries that can say they are even a part of two hemispheres, let alone four.

Being in multiple hemispheres at the same time is fascinating. The UK is mostly in the western hemisphere. Except, a little sliver is actually located in the eastern hemisphere. France is the opposite. The majority of the country is located in the eastern hemisphere, but a small minority is actually in the western hemisphere. This division is possible, do to the advent of the Prime Meridian. It seems to me, that the equator gets all the publicity in Geography. The Prime Meridian is the distain step cousin that everyone avoids. Looking at the world through the lens of the prime meridian is actually much more interesting. These more scientific distinctions of East and West, hardly jive with the more accepted cultural distinctions. France is a western nation, yet it is mostly in the Eastern section of the globe. The gap between science and culture, is often drastic.

I found this article most interesting, having lived in RI, NJ, GA, IN, MD, and TX. After awhile, you will start to pick up certain words, while dropping other similar words that I have used all of my life. The words and phrases both tend to change from one state to another. Read the article, it is enlightening. Fred Issa,

This is an incredibly limited mapping platform, but if all you want to do is put countries of the worldinto two simple categories, then this works (see also their states of the United States, provinces of Canada, and countries of Europe maps). It is imminently shareable online, so this is a popular way of creating a map of 'countries/states I have visited' for a Facebook wall--and yes, those maps above represent where I have been.

"Most state borders were drawn centuries ago, long before the country was fully settled, and often the lines were drawn somewhat arbitrarily, to coincide with topography or latitude and longitude lines that today have little to do with population numbers. Most state borders were drawn centuries ago, long before the country was fully settled, and often the lines were drawn somewhat arbitrarily, to coincide with topography or latitude and longitude lines that today have little to do with population numbers."

This shows that mmcdonals is a global industy . there are many mcdonalds everywhere they put a spin oncertain diishes to match their heritage like in japan instead of hamburger meat like we americans use the use crabs.It just really shows how far mcdonalds was changed from just starting in america to being featured all over the globe

I've lived and traveled to a few places especially Asia. I've had the Ramen at McD's in Hawaii along with the Portugeuse sausage that comes with the big breakfast. I've also experienced Japanese McD's. It was nice to be able to find some of the regular food like a burger and fry at any McD's in the world, but I never ordered anything else.

I haven't been to a lot of United States. I have been to Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina & South Carolina. As we can see, I pretty much know New England pretty well. I would however, like to travel throughout the west side of the United States.

"Did you know that Swedish has more in common with Hindi than it does with Finnish? Explaining everything within the limits of the world is probably too ambitious a goal for a list like this. But here are 23 maps and charts that can hopefully illuminate small aspects of how we manage to communicate with one another."

This article links with Unit Three through "language and communication". These 23 maps range from the history of languages, which languages connect with which, common languages in certain places, different phrases used in the same country for the same thing, and more. Looking at maps to spatially see language helps when trying to understand how the world communicates. One of the maps that I found interesting was the "New York tweets by language". It shows how diverse that city is, and how people are still preserving their native language in a English prominent country.

Shows how many languages are actually closely related. Whether or not they sound the same or are located in similar regions, many share the same origins. For example: many words in Spanish and English are the same due to their similar roots.

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